Tamika Catchings Top Vote-Getter In 2006 WNBA All-Star Balloting

July 5, 2006

Tamika Catchings received more All-Star votes than any other player in the WNBA.

NEW YORK – Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings was the leading vote-getter in the WNBA’s 2006 All-Star Balloting Program Presented by T-Mobile and AOL.com, and has been named one of 10 All-Star Game starters, as announced by the WNBA. The All-Star Game will be hosted by the New York Liberty on Wednesday, July 12 at Madison Square Garden and will be televised nationally on ESPN at 7:00 p.m. EDT.

A perennial All-Star, Catchings is currently averaging 16.1 points, along with 7.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.2 blocks ranking her in the league’s top 10 all-time in each category. It will be Catchings’ fourth All-Star appearance.

Three-time WNBA All-Star Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm received the second highest number of votes. Bird, who led her team to the 2004 WNBA title and is averaging 10.3 points, along with 2.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

In addition, for the first time in the WNBA's 10-year history, the league's All-Stars will be wearing special, made-for-this occasion All-Star uniforms. Whereas in the past All-Stars wore their team uniforms, the 2006 Game will see players don “East” and “West” uniforms signifying the conference they represent. Utilizing the creative inspiration of the WNBA's oatmeal and orange basketball icon, the uniforms are a combination of stars, orange and white.

The uniforms, which are designed to be tucked in, feature “East” or “West” across the chest with stars on both sides of the numerals. The WNBA’s primary logo is featured in a star on the side of the shorts. An orange and oatmeal version of the 06 NY AS logo is featured on the back of the short representing New York as the host team. With the Liberty serving as the host for the game, the East will be the home team and is a predominantly white uniform while the West is orange.

Mike Thibault of the Connecticut Sun and John Whisenant of the Sacramento Monarchs will coach the Eastern and Western Conference All-Stars, respectively. While the reserves for both conferences will be announced on Saturday, July 8, the following are the starting lineups for the Eastern and Western Conferences for the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game:

With tickets starting at $10, fans can enjoy the unique experience of seeing the WNBA’s superstars together in one place at Madison Square Garden. The World’s Most Famous Arena, plays host to the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game. Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com, at Ticketmaster Retail Locations, or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-877-WNBA-TIX. Tickets are also available for purchase at Madison Square Garden’s Box Office, through WNBA.com and at the NBA Store in New York.

The WNBA All-Stars will be extremely visible in New York during the All-Star break as the league will host a number of on and off-court activities, including community initiatives and interactive events that are open to the public FREE of charge. Foremost among those will be the 2006 WNBA All-Star Summer Jam, the league’s free interactive basketball festival, and the WNBA All-Star Legacy project, which serves as the centerpiece of the WNBA’s community outreach efforts in the All-Star host city and leaves a lasting and positive impression for the community.